Martial arts, such as karate, tae kwon do, judo and aikido, have become popular in the United States and worldwide. Even less mainstream martial arts, such as ju jitsu, kendo and krav maga, now have significant followings.
As these oriental arts have evolved, nearly all have begun to introduce weapons practice as part of the standard curriculum. One no longer needs to take a sword-oriented martial art such as kendo or iaido to receive instruction in the use of a Japanese sword as this instruction is now offered in other oriental martial arts including karate, ju jitsu, aikido and even judo. In addition to the increase in weapons training in oriental martial arts, there has been a resurgence in interest in medieval and western martial styles through the Society for Creative Anachronism, renaissance festivals, fencing and the like, which has also added to the popularity of sword and edged weapons training.
One aspect of sword and edge weapons training that is gaining popularity is actual cutting of targets with real weapons. For example, one element of traditional Japanese sword training is called tameshigiri, or test cutting practice. In traditional tameshigiri, a swordsman practices his swing and posture by cutting a cylindrical target with a sword or other weapon. In traditional tameshigiri, the targets are typically made by rolling tatami omote (a woven rice mat) into a cylinder. Other target are young (i.e. wet) bamboo of various diameters, or cylindrical bails of straw.
FIG. 1 shows side views of two designs for test cutting stands for use with typical cylindrical test-cutting targets. A vertical stand 100 may be provided to which a target 102 (shown as a dotted outline) may be vertically attached for practicing diagonal and horizontal cuts as targets 102 on this stand exhibit a vertical cutting surface. Typical vertical stands 100 include a vertical member 110 (often a 4×4 wooden post) stabilized by base 112 of some type (in this case, multiple 4×4 fixed to the four sides of the vertical member 110) provided with a retaining pin or peg 104 for penetrating the target 102. Another traditional stand 106, referred to as a dotangiri stand 106, is shown in FIG. 1 for holding one or more targets 102 (three targets 102 are illustrated) to provide a horizontal surface for practicing vertical cuts. The dotangiri stand 106 shown has two vertical members 130 attached to a base adapted to retain cylindrical targets 102 horizontally between them. The retained targets 102 often are retained in opposing slots (not shown) formed in the vertical members 130 and rest on a crossbar 132 that attaches the vertical members 130.
Tameshigiri probably represents the most organized form of test cutting training. Its techniques and materials are borrowed by many other arts and styles for similar training. However, the materials and design of test-cutting targets as used in tameshigiri have several drawbacks. First, they are relatively expensive. At $3 to $5 per target, which is destroyed when used, the cost of extensive training is very high.
Second, they are messy and require extensive clean up of the training area after practice. Typically a woven mat (tatami) target will partially separate after cutting, releasing a multitude of small individual lengths of straw or whatever the mat is woven out of in the practice area. These are difficult and time consuming to clean up.
Third, they are dangerous to the practitioner in that splinters and sharp edges may result during cutting. This is especially true as most martial arts require exponents to practice barefoot. Small slivers and pieces of target can injure the feet during practice.
Fourth, they can damage the weapons through scratches and abrasions to the cutting surface. This is especially true if ‘used’ tatami mats are made into targets. The used mats typically contain grains of sand and other particles that can scratch the highly polished weapons typically used in such practice.
Fifth, they require significant amount of preparation time—often requiring that they be assembled and then soaked in water for a day prior to using.
Sixth, the targets do not have the same cutting properties in different directions. For example, a woven tatami mat rolled into a long, cylindrical target is easily cut along its long axis, but hard to cut perpendicular to its long axis. All natural wood targets also exhibit this trait in one way or another. Cutting the target with the grain is easier than cutting against the grain. This is also a drawback when attempting to recreate kata when doing test cutting. For example, the first kata of most forms of Iaido is a seated form starting with a horizontal cut at the height of the opponent's neck and followed by a an vertical cut to the opponent's body. Because the cuts are in rapid succession to the same location, only a single target can be used. However, a typical target, because the properties are not uniform, is not suitable for such practicing this kata.
Seventh, the typical targets are limited to cylindrical shape. This is a drawback when attempting to do large cuts, requiring that multiple cylindrical targets be held on a stand side by side. For example, to practice a dotangiri (overhead vertical cut straight down), multiple cylindrical targets are vertically stacked. In addition, in martial arts that use swords, there are often specific sequences of cuts that are routinely practiced, and routine targets that routinely attached. For example, in Kendo and Iaido, there are four basic targets on the human body—the body called “do”, the head called “men”, the wrists called “kote”, and the throat called “tsuki”. Most practice sequences (referred to as “kata”) in Kendo and Iaido are combination of attacks to these targets. These targets are shown in FIG. 2a. For example, common sequences in Kendo include kote-men and kote-do. In kote-men the practitioner attacks the opponent's wrist and then the opponent's head in a fast sequence of strikes. In kote-do, the practitioner attacks the wrist and then the body of the opponent. While this is possible using the flexible shinai practice sword in Kendo, typical tamishigiri targets because they are single cylinders do not allow this combination of cuts to be performed on the same target.
In addition, Kendo and Iaido practice includes striking these points on opponents in different standard kamae, or stances. FIG. 2a illustrates a kendoka in the middle stance referred to as chudan no kamae. FIG. 2b illustrates the three primary kamae in kendo, although there are many others. A brief description of the stances 204, 206, 208, are as follows:                Chudan No Kamae 204 In chudan no kamae, one's shoulders squarely face the opponent. The left hand is held three or four inches in front of the navel. The right hand is held so that the tip of the sword is throat height. Both elbows are slightly bent, and both hands are directly on the center line.        Jodan No Kamae 206 In jodan (high) stance, one holds the sword up above the head. The elbows are bent, and the left hand is slightly above, and in front of the forehead. The blade tilts backward at a 30 to 45 degree angle, and the cutting edge faces forward.        Gedan No Kamae 208 The gedan (low) stance is similar to the chudan no kamae. From chudan no kamae, lower the blade tip to knee level by lowering the right hand without moving the left hand.        
Eighth, the properties of the targets, because they are made from natural products such as wood and straw, change from one target to the next. Thus making it difficult to gauge the power of one's cutting from cut to cut. This also poses a problem in competitions where one competitor can have targets with properties that differ from other competitor's targets.
Accordingly there is a need for an improved tameshigiri target. One that requires less time to prepare and that reduces the clean up time after use. Furthermore, a target that is reuseable, inexpensive and does not represent a danger to the user or the weapons would be preferred. Embodiments of the present invention provides a solution to one or more of these and other problems, and offers other advantages over the prior art.